Jane Smiley’s trilogy experimentation
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley was interviewed for the September 2015 edition of Writer’s Digest. In the interview, she discussed numerous topics, including her new trilogy, The Last Hundred Years. The three novels will follow the Langdon family and their five children for a period of 100 years. The saga begins on a farm in…
Read MoreBasking in the sun and scenery on Lake Geneva
Last summer I spent a lot of time in Geneva ferrying my son to camp and back. It was great fun being there with my family for summer weekends, when Geneva is at its best. One of the things I enjoyed doing with my children was taking the scenic ferry boat on Lake Geneva. Geneva…
Read MoreAre you a flexible writer or a focused writer?
I read an interesting post over at Books and Such by literary agent Rachel Kent. It was entitled: Two Types of Writers, and it stressed the point that agents enjoy working with both types of authors. The Flexible writers might be someone an agent approaches with an idea for a book or collaboration, since he/she…
Read MoreMedieval and Renaissance Alpine splendor in Pescocostanzo, Abruzzo
I’m a big fan of the rugged mountainous region of Abruzzo, a region east of Rome. As an avid hiker/skier/mountain-biker, I bought a weekend home there over a decade ago, and have been doing my best to explore the region. I’ve heard often about the beautiful ‘citta’ d’arte’ of Pescostanzo, at the edge of the Maiella…
Read MoreThe importance of backstory in your fiction
Over at the excellent Writers in the Storm blog, author Kathryn Craft has an excellent post entitled Backstory matters. Backstory is one of those controversial issues today. While you certainly don’t want to dump all of a character’s backstory into the opening chapter (since it tends to slow down the pace), you do need to…
Read MoreSpectacular views from the Yellowstone Lake Overlook trail
Last week I wrote about beautiful Yellowstone Lake. My family and I enjoyed staying at a lodge on the edge of this lake on our visit to Yellowstone National Park last summer. This week, I wanted to point out the pleasant and easy Lake Overlook trail, which is a must-see if your travel plans take…
Read MoreEven more favorite summer reading so far … The Seven Sisters
Wow, I picked this up in the book store after falling in love with the cover (shallow, I know) and the sound of the story. I’m glad I did. I’d never heard of Irish author Lucinda Riley before reading this novel. I always have a soft spot for two separate yet linked narratives, one in…
Read MoreAlong the shores of Yellowstone Lake
We had a great time last summer on our trip to the US. As part of our vacation, we spent ten days out west in Great Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. At Yellowstone, we stayed at a park lodge on the edge of Yellowstone Lake, and used this as a base for exploring…
Read MoreHow do you keep track of your story ideas?
Over at the excellent Nathan Bransford blog, there was a great question for authors: How do you keep track of your ideas? This isn’t as easy as it might seem. Writers are – by their very nature- daydreamers, and they may have lots of ideas flitting around in their heads at any one time. Any…
Read MoreI want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike … in Vienna
Last month I was on a weekend trip with my two sons for a family event in Vienna. Long ago, I briefly lived in this city, and I’m always happy to return. One thing that many visitors may not realize is that Vienna is a great city to see by bike. The city boasts over…
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